Asphalt company says Pittsburgh Mills owners never paid them for filling potholes

Add an Eastern Pennsylvania-based asphalt company to the list of those frustrated by the owners of the Pittsburgh Mills in Frazer.

Jessica Jones, president of Patch Management Inc., said mall owner Namdar Realty Group hasn’t paid a $21,000 bill for the hot asphalt spray applied in recent weeks.

“We fulfilled our contract for what they requested, but they haven’t responded to any communication,” Jones told TribLive on Tuesday.

Though Patch Management repaired a relatively small portion of the vast complex’s roadways, offering visitors to the Frazer mall a brief glimmer of hope, potholes there continue to wreak havoc on drivers and their vehicles. Now, work at the Mills is stalled indefinitely.

Namdar, based in New York, faces possible repercussions in a related criminal case.

Public nuisance charges were filed April 2 by the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office after authorities said the deteriorating roads cause a public safety hazard.

The case was expected to proceed to court Monday but was postponed.

Rebecca Spangler, chief of staff for District Attorney Stephen Zappala, said a preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 2.

Calls to the company were not returned.

Mall roads — Pittsburgh Mills Boulevard, Galleria Drive, Retail Drive, Village Center Drive, Value Drive and Mills and Fashion drives; and Pittsburgh Mills Circle — are privately owned by Namdar. They are not Frazer Township’s responsibility.

Lori Ziencik, Frazer supervisor and township secretary, said no updates were available regarding a separate lawsuit filed by the township last year.

Frazer officials sued Namdar for $4.5 million, claiming the roads were the result of negligence.

That case is ongoing, but Ziencik said Namdar failed to respond to the request that the company make a remediation plan by April 7 and begin work on the roads by April 30.

“There’s been no progress there,” she said.

According to state court records, 54 summary citations were filed against the mall owners by Frazer police and zoning enforcement officer William Payne Jr. on May 6, after 24 others had been filed April 22.

The citations include claims for failing to keep sidewalks, walkways and driveways in proper repair; and failure to maintain property, causing a public nuisance and unsafe conditions.

Payne did not respond to messages seeking comment.

According to the township’s zoning code, violations call for a fine of no less than $300 a day per violation.

In the meantime, people who visit Pittsburgh Mills for shopping or dining continue to vent frustrations through a Facebook page named Pittsburgh Mills Mess. It has racked up more than 2,500 members since January.

Springdale resident Peggy Werries is among them. Werries has lost faith in restoration at the mall, she said.

“I think they’re waiting for a car to fall in before anything gets done,” she said.

“People laugh, but I don’t think these memes are too far off with pictures of the Empire State Building being swallowed up by a Mills pothole.”

Other people on the site advised drivers to “respect the swerve,” referring to vehicles commonly swerving to avoid wide and deep potholes.

Frazer police Chief Aaron Scott told county investigators that officers, since 2021, have taken about 40 reports related to the mall’s road conditions.

He also said several of the businesses outside the actual mall pay into a fund designated for road maintenance through Namdar.

Lowe’s and Eat’n Park, which pay about $1,430 and $520 a month, respectively, are named in Zappala’s warrant as being among the businesses that pay to have the roads maintained.

Corporate media representatives from Lowe’s and Eat ’n Park did not return calls seeking comment.

Indiana Township resident Verne Bergstrom broke his own rule and shopped at the Mills Walmart on Tuesday.

“I think I was literally forced to drive in the middle of the road,” he said. “It’s so bad.”

Despite living just miles from the shopping center, Bergstrom said he deliberately avoids it. He’ll shop in Harrison or New Kensington or Fox Chapel before driving to the Mills.

“It’s sad,” he said. “Everything is right there, but I will literally drive out of my way to go elsewhere.”